Brown Acid: The Tenth Trip

Here we are, arriving at the tenth edition ofBrown Acidin just half as many years! As always, we packed in the highest highs of the dankest hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal tracks previously lost to the sands of time. As usual, all of these tracks were painstakingly licensed legitimately and the artists were paid. Its hard to believe were already up to 10 volumes of this lysergic neanderthal wail, but the long-lost jams just keep-a-coming like Texas crude to fuel your rocknroll engine and melt your metal mind.
ThisTripkicks off with the Hammer of the Gods howl of Plastic Thunder byBitter Creek. The Atlanta, GA quintets lone single from 1970 on Mark IV Records is rated #6 of theTop 50 Heaviest Songs Before Black Sabbathby GuitarWorld Magazine. You can hear why in the ominous riff and larynx-ravaging chorus that merges the deepest of Deep Purple sludge with The Whos rollicking psychedelia.
Not much is known aboutThe Broods 1969 bluesy paean to dirtbag weed consumption The Roach on the Its A Lemon imprint, except that its a big, growling rocker with a crazed in-the-round blowout of wailing guitar solos, screeching organ blasts, wildly overlapping vocals and drum rolls for days.
Nova Scotia, Canada sextetBrothers and Ones double-entendre laden single Hard On Me certainly pushes the boundaries of what would be acceptable at the time (especially amongst their ever-polite Canadian brethren.) Their lone full length was released in 1970 on short-lived Audat label, the group featuring two sets of brothers (hence the name) recorded the album while all members were between age 13-18-years-old. This glam-influenced single was privately released on the bands own label nearly 4 years later.
Louisville, KY quartetConceptions excellent revision of Blue Cheers Babylon (1969, Perfection Records) adds heavy phaser effect on the guitar and a more driving rhythm to make the song entirely their own. Lead guitar and high harmony vocals by Charlie Day (not to be confused with the Sunny Philadelphian actor) are assertive and commanding as he implores listeners onward to hallucinagenic nirvana.
Not exactly a typically psychedelic band name for the era, butFirst State Banks Mr. Sun (1970, Music Mill) pays hearty dividends of boogie bustle. The Central Texas band led by guitarist/vocalist Randy Nunnally released only 3 singles in its career from 1970-1976. For those keeping score at home, their song Before You Leave was featured onThe Third Tripback in 2016. Mr. Sun is the heavy B-Side to Coming Home To You.
Clearly inspired by Jimi Hendrix, Tucson quartetFrozen Suntopped the local charts in 1969 with this barnstorming rocker Electric Soul (Capt. Zoomer Records.) The song is replete with guitarist/vocalist (with big Hendrix hair) Ron Ryans spoken interlude, Well have you been electrically stoned? You know, living in the danger zone? We say yes.
Ralph Williams and the Wright Brotherstook flight with Never Again on Hour Glass Records in 1972, and apparently never landed after this 45 with Dark Street on the A-side. The serpentine riff and sexually-charged backing vocal grunts drive this archetypical tale of a young mans chemical odyssey or, should we say, trip?
Sounds Synonymouspretty much epitomized heavy fuzz from Michigan with their 1969 single Tension on the Wall Productions label. The Hendrix Fire meets Arthur Browns Fire track lunges and lurches with glee throughout its 3-minutes and change of unbridled crunch.Tabernashs Head Collect (1972) is the suburban Denver quartets only release following the name change from The Contents Are and a move from Davenport, IA. This more stately psych-rock chune features Byrds-like harmonies, twangy reverse-looped guitar soloing and Keith Moon-esque drumming that shouldve made it a chart-topper, but we all know theres no justice in rocknroll.
The Tenth Tripcloses, appropriately, with the War Pigs reminiscent fuzz of New Orleans quartetThe Rubber Memorys 1970 tune All Together. The band self-released only 110 copies of their lone album, making it an incredibly sought-after rarity for decades. Alongside a limited edition reissue in 2000, the group reformed for a one-off show before quickly bouncing back into our collective cosmic consciousness.

Sounds Synonymous Tensions
Flint, Michigan
1969

Ralph Williams and the Wright Brothers Never Again
Yreka, CA
1972

Conception Babylon
Louisville, Kentucky
1969

Bitter Creek Plastic Thunder
Atlanta, Georgia
1970

Rubber Memory All Together
New Orleans, Louisiana
1970

First State Bank Mr. Sun
Dallas, Texas
1970

Brothers and One Hard On Me
New Waterford, Ca
pe Breton, Nova Scotia
1974

Frozen Sun Electric Soul
Tuscon, Arizona
1969

Brood The Roach
Birmingham, Alabama
1969

Tabernash Head Collect
Iowa City, Iowa /Westminster, Colorado1969